Friday, March 31, 2006

Korean Defector Has Courage, Bad Taste In Music

Pianist Kim Cheol-Weong said he decided to defect to South Korea after hearing decadent Western music in a coffee shop in Moscow.

What music could be so powerful as to make Kim escape "across the Tumen River to China", even as he endangered the lives of those he left behind? Sure, music hath the c to s the s b, but can it make a man say "Annyeonghi kyeseyo" to crazy King Kim Jong Il? And if there is such a music, why isn't it on my iPod?

So I started guessing. Was it the B-side of "Abbey Road"? It's decadent in that 9-part harmonies kind of way. Was it "Street Fighting Man"? "Like A Rolling Stone"? A Wagner opera? Beethoven's Ninth? Pathetique? "Anarchy In The UK"? Heh, "Ride Across The River"?

yes, it's shocking isn't it? Next thing you know Yanni will be helping to make the world safe for democracy. Shudder!

My theory, the Clayderman tape is probably a hangover from Communist days. The guys at the Kremlin probably thought it was a good way to highlight capitalist decadence. So what if our one radio station plays Tchaikovsky 24 hours a day? Look what you will have to listen to if you defect to the West!

On the other hand, who knew they had coffee shops in Moscow. Or coffee for that matter.